Improving fuel quality from plastic bag waste pyrolysis by controlling condensation temperature

Plastic waste is a major problem in many areas around the world. The pyrolysis of plastic waste to produce fuel is another solution to this problem. But the fuel obtained from plastic waste was of low quality due to improper experimental factors. Therefore, the improvement of fuel quality in the production process is essential. This research has objective was to study the first condenser temperature in 5 levels: 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 degrees C. The experimental conditions were pyrolysis temperature of 300 degrees C, hot filter temperature of 200 degrees C, second condenser temperature of -40 degrees C, 1 kg of plastic bag waste and the experimental period of 2 h. The results showed that the first condenser temperature of 30 degrees C yielded the highest first fuel yield of 70.7 wt%. When raising the temperature to 40 degrees C, the second fuel yield was up to 7.3 wt%. The results of the fuel properties analysis revealed that the first fuel had a high heating value (HHV) of 42.4 MJ/kg. There is a chemical composition of substances in the diesel fuel group mostly. But the first condenser temperature increased from 10 to 50 degrees C, causing a decrease in calorific value and density. This is a result of chemical compositions where many macromolecules are condensed in the fuel. For the analysis of the second fuel, it was found that the HHV was 38.1 MJ/kg, which was 4.3 MJ/kg lower than the HHV of the first fuel. However, the calorific value and density of the second fuel increases as the temperature of the first condenser increases. The chemical composition of the second fuels is Benzene, Toluene and Cyclononane as its main constituents, giving it a physical appearance like that of gasoline. But, in second fuels there is a chemical composition of Dicyclopentadiene. It has a clear yellow color and a pungent odor that annoys users. If in the future this substance can be eliminated, it will enable the production of fuel from plastic waste as a substitute for gasoline. (c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under theCCBY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

Plastic waste is a global problem and pyrolysis of plastic waste for fuel production is a potential solution. This research focused on studying the effect of the first condenser temperature on fuel quality. The results showed that a condenser temperature of 30 degrees C yielded the highest fuel yield and had a high heating value. The chemical composition of the fuel varied with different condenser temperatures.